


is this microphone live?

by helloearthlings



Series: KFAM Dialogue Prompts [5]
Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Best Friends, During Canon, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 12:43:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16086356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloearthlings/pseuds/helloearthlings
Summary: “Hey, dude,” Ben says, doing his best to grin at Sammy. “How’s it going?”Sammy shrugs, but his eyes are a little concerned on Ben’s. “I’m okay. How are you?”Ben hesitates before answering. The combination of having Emily still missing and his best friend furious with him has made the past couple of weeks a new kind of hell, especially since the holidays are supposed to be the time he’s meant to spend with his family and friends. At least his mom is still talking to him.





	is this microphone live?

**Author's Note:**

> I finished writing up all the prompts last night, so yours will be posted eventually, I promise! But they're coming out one a day, and I think there'll be fifteen in total? Something like that. Anyway, here's today's fic!
> 
> Prompt for this one - "Surprise, I have feelings and you just hurt them."

Ben isn’t quite sure of what’s gone down in the last few days. His memory of the Christmas tree lighting is blurry at best, he honestly can’t remember what he was doing for most of it up until when the lights flashed on and lit up the town. Everyone had seemed a little dazed though, so Ben was blaming the eggnog and hot apple cider that the Weird Food Truck had been serving that night.

All he knows is that Sammy’s forgiven him, or at least isn’t outwardly angry anymore. When Ben had gotten back to the studio after the lighting was over, Sammy had hugged him gruffly and told him that all was forgotten.

But they’re four days into their holiday break and Ben feels like all  _ isn’t  _ forgotten, because he hasn’t seen Sammy since then. Last holiday break, they’d hung out constantly, cementing their best friendship as something that didn’t just stay within the walls of the studio. Ben has great memories of last December, and all of them involve Sammy.

Ben doesn’t have a lot of self control, and hates people being mad at him, so he texts Sammy _ hey are you home can I come over??? _

The response doesn’t come for another hour, but it does say  _ yeah sure _ , which isn’t promising, but it’s something.

So Ben drives the two minutes it takes to get from his place to Sammy’s, and buzzes up to his apartment. When Sammy opens the door, he looks a little worse for wear, wearing a sweatshirt Ben doesn’t recognize that has its sleeves rolled up, his hair resembling more of a bird’s nest than anything else.

“Hey,” Sammy says, and his voice is a little guarded, but he still smiles at Ben like he knows why Ben’s here, and he steps aside to let Ben in.

Ben doesn’t hang out at Sammy’s place much - if they’re doing movie nights, they’re probably gonna be at Ben or Troy’s place - and it’s kind of a mess, dirty dishes piled in the sink and laundry on the floor. Ben wonders how long it’s been that way; he hasn’t been here since probably October. 

“Hey, dude,” Ben says, doing his best to grin at Sammy. “How’s it going?”

Sammy shrugs, but his eyes are a little concerned on Ben’s. “I’m okay. How are  _ you _ ?”

Ben hesitates before answering. The combination of having Emily still missing and his best friend furious with him has made the past couple of weeks a new kind of hell, especially since the holidays are  _ supposed  _ to be the time he’s meant to spend with his family and friends. At least his mom is still talking to him.

“I’m...alright,” Ben decides on the word, and Sammy nods like he knows what Ben’s getting at.

They’re silent and awkward for ten seconds before Ben’s mouth starts moving for him. “Sorry. You might not want to see me right now but - well. You said you forgave me and...and I really wanna hang out. Is that okay? Are we at that place yet? I know there’s  _ obviously  _ still some tension here.”

Sammy sighs, looking more tired than Ben feels, which honestly, shouldn’t be possible. “Look. I - you’re my best friend, Ben. I’m not saying what you did didn’t piss me off. Because you did. And it really hurts that you didn’t trust me. But like I said. What’s important is that you’re my best friend, and you’re obviously sorry, and it’s better for both of us if I get over this and forgive you. Because I - well - I don’t want to lose you. Alright?” 

“Yeah,” Ben says, part of him crumpling a bit even though he knows Sammy’s going to get over this and be okay soon, because he really does regret this, more than almost anything he’s done before. “I get it. You - you’re right. I should’ve trusted you. I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Ben,” Sammy says, the look on his face a little closer to his normal affectionate, teasing self. “Honestly.”

“I just miss you,” Ben blurts out before he can help himself. “Can we like - still hang out? Over break? If you need some time away from me, I totally get it, but…”

“Yeah, we can hang out over break,” Sammy’s lips twitch like he’s trying not to smile. “It’d be a pretty dull Christmas without you Ben.”

Not for the first time, Ben remembers that Sammy doesn’t have anywhere to go for Christmas. He didn’t last year, he still doesn’t this year. And that makes Ben regret this whole situation even more, because it’s clear that whoever Sammy used to be, he doesn’t have any connection to anymore. 

Ben’s the most important person in Sammy’s life, as far as he knows. And Ben had fractured that relationship. He’s so, so grateful that it wasn’t irreparable damage, but he still can’t help how ashamed he feels that he ever jeopardized that. 

“Good,” Ben says, trying to convey everything with apologetic eyes. “I - I should never have done that. Ever. I’ve never seen you that angry before, but. But you had a right to be. I was entirely in the wrong. I’m sorry if I handled it badly - I mean, I know I did, but - usually you’re so unflappable, you don’t care what people think of you. I guess I thought…”

Ben swallows, looking at the ground. “I don’t know what I thought. It was stupid of me no matter what, though.”

“I’m not unflappable, Ben,” Sammy says, his voice hardening slightly, but not in a mean way. Just in a blunt way. “And I -”

He sighs, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I don’t care what Grisham thinks of me, or any judgment Pete or Cynthia or any annoying caller decides to pass on who I am. But I sure as hell care what you think of me. I know I’m not exactly transparent, but - I mean, fucking surprise surprise, I have feelings. And you just hurt them a hell of a lot, man.”

“I know,” Ben says, shame bubbling in his stomach. He hasn’t been able to feel or comprehend much of anything these past few months that wasn’t guilt and fear about Emily, but this incident had cemented something for him. As much as his life was dependent on getting Emily Potter home safe and sound, his life was equally incomplete without Sammy Stevens as his best friend. 

Ben really, really loves Sammy. No matter who he is. Or who he was. 

He can’t say that now though, not after everything he’s put Sammy through these past couple weeks. Months, really. He knows he hasn’t been a good friend recently. 

“I’m so sorry,” Ben says instead, simple but firm. “I - I trust you, okay? Completely. No matter what. I was the world’s biggest idiot when I wrote that down. And I was wrong. So fucking, completely, over the top  _ wrong  _ to write that about you.”

Sammy almost smiles at him. “Ben. I….I understand why you did it. I know I’m not the most transparent person in the world. But what I did before I came here, who I used to be, that has  _ nothing,  _ absolutely  _ nothing  _ to do with the two of us, and our friendship. And it never will. I thought you knew that.”

Sammy’s voice gets a little rougher as he keeps talking, like he’s trying to hold himself together, and Ben gets the curious feeling that he’s supposed to be able to glean something more from that, but he honestly has no idea what it is.

He settles for saying “I do. I was so fucking stupid - but I believe that, I really do.”

“Okay,” Sammy says, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. “Can we be done talking about this now? Can we just - go back to normal? Go to Rose’s or see a movie or something?”

“Yes, yes, absolutely, that’s all I want,” Ben immediately jumps in, relief singing through his body. “There’s a holiday sale at all the shops on Main Street. We can go gift shopping, if you. If you want.”

Sammy grins at him, fleeting but so entirely ordinary. “How am I supposed to get you a gift if you’re there when I buy it?”

“C’mon, there are other people you have to buy for,” Ben rolls his eyes to keep from bursting with affection. “Troy. Mary and Tim and the kids. My mom, if you’re...if you’re still planning on coming over.”

Betty had invited Sammy over for the holidays back in November when Sammy had been invited over for Thanksgiving, and Sammy had promised her he’d be there. Ben hoped that his stupid idiot self hadn’t ruined that over some dumbass page in his fucking notebook.

Thankfully, Sammy seems to know just what Ben’s thinking, and he reaches over to ruffle Ben’s hair. Ben ducks away from him, but he can’t stop grinning. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Sammy says, and Ben feels, for the first time, like he’s finally forgiven.


End file.
